Polish Union of America Building

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1890 the Polish Union of America would move to Buffalo, early in its life.

In 1913 the PUA selected Wladyslaw Zawadzki to design its new national headquarters that was to be built on Fillmore Avenue in Buffalo. After months at the drafting table Wladyslaw came up with a three-story brick building with white marble trim and room for the organizations offices, club rooms, library, reception rooms and one of the largest meeting halls in the city of Buffalo. It took over a year from the building to go from the page to completion. On August 29, 1915 over 10,000 spectators packed the streets of Buffalo to see a parade of over 6,000 local and out-of-town members march to the dedication of the new hall. With dignitaries from across the country the local and national press covered the event with the Buffalo Courier writing that the new Union Hall is “one of the prettiest buildings on the east side.”

This would be the home of the organization until it moved in the 1990s.